Bailard Inc. Reduces Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Bailard Inc. cut its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 184,630 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $21,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COP. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 4,377 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 442 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marion Wealth Management raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 11,157 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $129.27. 3,846,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,377,396. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $95.70 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,947.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.